Sunday, December 4, 2011

Dork Art: John Carter of Mars by Frazetta

I've been thinking about John Carter, the new Disney/Pixar film adaptation of the classic of pulp science fiction. Actually, lately, I've been reading, watching, and thinking a lot about classic science fiction in general. But, we'll stick with John Carter, and the serialized story that became A Princess of Mars, and then continued through several other books. It's been a favorite of mine since I was a young lad. I always liked Edgar Rice Burroughs' fast paced stories, rugged heroes, and not so subtle sexuality (yes, folks on Mars, at least in the first book, are naked except for jewelry and utility belts). And like another long time favorite of mine, Robert E. Howard's Conan, the heroic John Carter has been visualized many times by many different painters. And also like Conan, my favorite is probably the incomparable Frank Frazetta.

There are many other great artists to have depicted Barsoom (Mars), Carter, and the other wonders of Burroughs' stories. But, something about Frazetta has always spoken to me.